Someone Like Me
by kittydelara
Summary: Set during the movie. Starts just at the end of Nora and Brett's argument/break up. Pairings will eventually be Nora/Tyler and Miles/Lucy, possible O/C when I think of them.
1. Time For Change

**Hey everyone! I just watched Step Up for the first time all the way through (bad I know, considering I saw Step Up 2 before the first one!) I came up with this fic after, it's just a few ideas that were running loose in my head. The pairings for this are Nora/Tyler so far, but will feature Miles/Lucy and possible other characters which I'll think of at a later date. Let me know if you have any ideas for them/the story. I've kinda crossed this over with Step Up 2, seeing as Andie makes an appearance. At this point, she obviously doesn't go to MSA, is sorta Tyler's sister, and Chase, Moose etc don't exist. They might later on, if I really get going into this story. Depending on R&R's I might give you another chapter tonight or tomorrow, if you're good :D. This is my first Step Up fic, hasn't been beta-ed, to any mistakes are all my own. **

**This starts at the end of Brett and Nora's argument/break up.**

**I don't own Step Up, Step Up 2, or any of the c****haracters associated with those two films. If I did, I'd own Channing and Rob, and be rolling around in all my money :P. **

**Enjoy. **

In the corridor outside the recording studio…

"That loser's not going anywhere fast, and you know it!" Brett called after her. Nora turned round to face him, not really believing he'd just said that.

"That _loser _has more talent in his little toe than you do in your _entire_ body." Nora replied.

With that, Nora spun on her heel and marched off, leaving a shell-shocked Brett in her wake. If he was going to be a complete ass, then she wasn't going to waste her time on him.

Tyler quickly hopped round the corner of the stairwell as he saw Nora turn and come toward him. Had she really just said that? She thought he was talented?

Just as Nora reached the end of the corridor, she turned right to go down the stair case to the second floor studio, when she ran into something solid. Looking up, she was met with a familiar pair of green eyes.

"Tyler, I'm sorry, didn't see you there" she mumbled apologetically.

"No worries. Look, about what you just said…" he tried to thank her, before being cut off…

"Not now, Tyler, please. I'm not in the mood for this." She said as she brushed past him and started to make her way down the stairs.

"I just wanted to say thanks" Tyler replied quickly.

Nora sighed. She _really _wasn't in the mood to be nice now. "You want to thank me? Then be at practice in 45 minutes." On that note, she carried on down the stairs, leaving Tyler wondering what he'd done wrong this time……

Nora reached the bottom of the stairs and took a left, deciding on going to get a coffee from the café over the road before getting ready to practice the routine with Tyler.

Opening the door and stepping out into the bright sunshine, she started to walk down the street to where the crossing was. Whilst walking, she began thinking about the argument she'd just had with her now ex-boyfriend.

'_Ok, he ditched Miles and totally walked all over him, that hacked me off. He lied about why he really went to New York, that annoyed me too. So why am I most pissed off that he basically called Tyler a talent less loser? _

_Maybe because you're warming up to Tyler?' _

Her conscience was starting to annoy her. She'd been having thoughts about dancing with him all morning, thoughts she couldn't seem to shake. When she danced with him she felt, well, different. Like she'd been woken up for the first time in so long. Dancing with Andrew had never been like this. '_Sure, he's a great dancer' _she thought, '_but he's not Tyler.' _

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts. She quickly crossed the road, and swung open the door of the café. She got her coffee and a muffin, and made her way back to MSA. Stopping, just as she pushed the heavy wooden doors open, she sighed and headed toward the empty studio.

'_It's going to be a long afternoon.' _

Waiting for Nora to appear, Tyler paced across the wooden floor. He'd purposely been early today, making an attempt to show her he really was serious about this. He still didn't quite understand what she'd meant by her comment to Brett earlier. Did she seriously think he had talent, or was she just saying it to get back at Brett?

Either way, he was determined to find out.

He looked up as he heard the double doors to the studio open. His face dropped when he realised the person entering wasn't Nora, but it then lit up again as he recognised the brunette as she walked over to him.

"Andie! What you doin' here?" He said, as they shared a hug.

"Good to see you too, bro. Mac gave me the DL on what you're doin' after school, thought I'd come check it out myself. This part of your service?" Andie asked, giving him the once-over with her eyes, confused about why he was dressed differently than he normally was.

Tyler looked down at his clothes. Today of all days, he'd chosen something different to wear than his usual baggy jeans and long-sleeved shirt. He had chosen a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a white tank top and a black button up shirt, only done up by one button. He was bare foot, and his baseball cap lay on a chair next to the wall.

"Yeah..sorta. This girl, Nora, needed a new dance partner for her showcase thing, so I stepped in, thought I could help." He said nervously awaiting Andie's reaction.

"Ever the gentlemen. Well, I always knew you could dance. What is it, hip-hop, street? " She asked.

"Uh..not really. It's kinda contemporary, little bit of hip-hop thrown in. It's good though, you should stay, see what we got."

"Nah, I gotta bail, Sarah's going out tonight, gotta keep an eye on the C-man. It's real good to see you though, you're hardly around anymore."

"Yeah, just been real busy with this…" Tyler started, before both he and Andie were alerted to someone coming in through the studio doors.

Nora walked swiftly toward the studio, hoping Tyler wasn't there, so she could have a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Just as she reached for the door, she heard people talking. She recognised Tyler's voice, but not the other person's. Intrigued as to who this girl was, she peeked in through the door, to see Tyler sharing a hug with a girl who must have been around 15 or 16. Her style was similar to Ty's. She was dressed in black cargo pants, multi-colored Nikes, a red strap top, blue cropped jacket and a blue baseball cap.

She watched them talk for a few minutes, and Nora pondered who she could be. '_His girlfriend? No, too young. His sister? Does he have any? A friend?' _

Settling on the last option, she pushed open the doors to the studio and walked in.

"Tyler, you're early. Practice doesn't start for another 20 minutes." She said as her way of greeting him. She was still a bit suspicious of this girl in front of her, though.

"Well, I wanted to prove I'm serious about this. I know I've been off for a little while, but I'm 100 on it now." He replied, before glancing at Andie who had an amusing look of confusion on her face.

"Sorry, D, lemme introduce you. This is Nora, I'm her dance partner. Nora, this is my sister, Andie."

Nora relaxed a little. '_Well, what were you expecting? You knew she was too young to be his girlfriend' _She turned her attention back to Tyler's sister, extending her hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you, Andie. I didn't know Tyler had a sister." Andie took her hand and shook it. Nora was pretty. She had chocolate brown curly hair, and big brown eyes. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she could see her brother staring at Nora, who in turn, was looking at Andie.

"Well, we're not biological or anything, but DNA's the only thing stoppin' us from being related. That said, I gotta roll, nice meeting ya though. Ty, say hi to Lena and co for me?" She walked forward and hugged him again.

"Sure thing, little one. Keep outta trouble now, kay?"

Andie rolled her eyes at him. "Me, trouble? Never!" She said sarcastically. "Catch ya later, bro." With that, she threw her bag over her shoulder, walked out of the studio, letting the doors swing shut behind her.

Tyler watched Andie leave, then turned to face Nora. "You ready?"

"You didn't tell me you had a sister. She seems nice." She replied.

"Yeah, she is. My foster parents fostered her for a little while before she found her guardian Sarah. She's a good kid." He looked a little spaced out as he remembered the times he'd spent with Andie and her mom when she was little.

"She reminds me of you. Obviously, you're not a girl, but you've got pretty similar personalities." Nora was sure that if Andie wasn't younger, they could practically be twins.

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment. Shall we do this?" Tyler asked.

"We shall." She replied, taking his hand which he had offered to her.

Practice went fairly smoothly, with Tyler only falling over a couple of times, both of which Nora laughed at him for. She was impressed. He was picking up her choreography well, and they'd dropped in a few of his suggestions, too. The routine was starting to look really good, at last.

6pm rolled around, and Nora realised they'd run late. She walked over to the chairs at the side of the room and began packing her stuff away. She remembered her mom was away tonight on a business trip, and wouldn't be back until around 4pm the next day. An idea sprung into her head, and she turned to face Tyler, who was on the floor putting his shoes back on.

"Hey Tyler, do you wanna get something to eat now?" She asked. '_Please say yes'. _She loved spending time with him outside of dance practice, and she could really use a KFC bucket right about now.

He looked up from his shoes. "Umm, sure, what did you have in mind?" '_Whew, you can relax now girl, he said yes.' _

"Er, KFC or something? I'm fed up of the stuff my mom cooks. I haven't eaten rubbish in a long time" She smiled at him.

He grinned back, finished tying his shoe and stood up, brushing off his pants. "KFC sounds good to me. Let's go, I'm starving."


	2. Sorry

**Hi! I know I promised a chapter last night, but I spent nearly four hours in hospital! I fell down the bottom two stairs of my staircase, landed on my left arm and hit my head on the computer desk - I make no apologies for my clumsiness though - it's genetic, but it sure as hell hurt! Oh well, my arm is all strapped up now, which is making typing pretty tricky, but I'm having a go. I may not be able to update as regularly as I'd like. This chapter might have a hint of fluff if you squint, but I promise it will get better. The story will start to fit in with it's title soon, too, probably in the next chapter. **

**Once again, I don't own Step Up or any of the characters, except for Harvey, who I actually do own. :D**

**Enjoy, and R&R if you want to! x**

The journey to the nearest KFC had been pretty uneventful. They walked side by side in the sunshine, getting comfortable with one another's presence. They had made small talk the whole way, about her, him, the school, anything. Nora had expected Tyler to press her about her comment to Brett all during their rehearsal, but he hadn't said a word about it, for which she was grateful. She didn't yet know why she'd said it herself, let alone try and explain it to him. '_Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing? That sounds about right, it was an impulse, a reaction…' _She glanced sideways at Tyler, before returning her eyes to focus on the sidewalk.

'_Then why don't I believe it?'_

Nora was still deep in thought when she heard Tyler gently calling her name.

"Uh, Nora, I dunno where you're going, but KFC's this way" He said, pointing down the street.

She looked up and realised she's almost crossed the street in completely the wrong direction, without even knowing it. Stepping back to Tyler, she mumbled an apology and they carried on walking in sync. A few minutes of silence passed, and Tyler looked over to Nora, a frown gracing her delicate features. She looked deep in thought. She also looked a little sad. Was it something he'd done or said?

"Nora, you ok?" He asked, stopping outside a store front.

"Huh..what?" She replied, startled out of her reverie, stopping as well. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You looked upset for a second there. Just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine, Tyler, really. But thanks for asking. God, how far away is this place? I'm starving!" Changing the subject was something she was good at, just like she was good at avoiding revealing her thoughts, although that seemed so easy with Tyler. She wanted to tell him about her fight with Brett, although she was sure he'd seen it. She wanted to tell him what she was thinking, and how she felt. For some reason, she felt like she could spill everything, and he wouldn't question her.

"You're looking at it" Tyler replied, giving her an amused look.

"Oh."

'_OK, now I feel stupid. So wrapped up in your own thoughts, you didn't even know you were in front of the damn building. That's it, Nora, day dreaming's gotta stop.' _

She looked up to see Tyler holding the door for her. "You coming or not? Thought you were hungry?"

Nora put on her best smile, and walked through the door, past Tyler and into the building. "I am, let's eat."

They both ordered their food and looked around the busy floor. Deciding against eating in the crowded space, Nora had an idea.

"We can take this back to my house if you don't feel like eating here. My mom's away so it'd be nice and quiet. If you want to, that is." She added nervously.

He glanced at her and grinned. "Sure, why not? It'll gimme a chance to snoop round your place" He replied, winking at her. She swatted his arm with the back of her hand, smiled and headed for the door

"Come on, let's go before this gets cold."

"Here, take this will you?" Nora asked as she shoved her bag of food into Tyler's hands. "I gotta find my keys".

"Wait, _this _is your house?" He looked up and down the building they had stopped in front of, impressed and surprised at the same time.

"Yeah it is. What, you don't like it?" She asked, amused at the expression on his face."

"Nah, it's great, it's just….big." He replied, still looking at red-bricked building.

Nora quickly located her keys right at the bottom of her bag, unlocked the door and motioned for Tyler to follow her. He quickly scanned the area around him. It was homely, neat, yet very Nora. '_Her mom must be just like her'_ he thought.

"Kick your shoes off and dump your stuff if you want, I'll be right back. I just wanna get changed out of these clothes." With that, she disappeared up the stairs, Tyler watching her as she ran into what he presumed was her bedroom.

He took off his shoes and placed them by the door, not wanting to be rude and throwing them on the floor like he would usually do at home. He dropped his bag on top of his shoes, and went in search of the kitchen. He opened the first door he got to, and nearly dropped the food he was still holding, as a very excited black Labrador came charging at him.

"Don't worry about him, he just likes new people" A voice said behind him. Nora was making her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She had changed into cropped jeans, a white tank top and a cropped pink cardigan. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, with a pink headband keeping it out of her eyes.

She looked…'_pretty' _Tyler thought, turning his attention back to the dog who was now licking the back of his hand.

"No worries, I love dogs. I always wanted one at my foster parents, but they kept telling me we didn't have enough room for hamster, let alone a dog."

Nora laughed at this is she took the food from his hands and set it down on the breakfast counter. Tyler meanwhile, became engrossed in a game of rough and tumble with the dog.

"Ok, boys, break it up, I wanna eat now!" Nora called at Tyler more than the dog.

She looked down at the Lab and said gently but firmly "Harvey – basket". Harvey immediately turned and plodded over to his wicker basket in the corner of the kitchen. Tyler stared at Nora with wide eyes.

"You taught him to do that?" He asked, taking a seat at the breakfast bar opposite Nora.

"Yeah – he pretty much does everything except for dance. I'm working on that one."

They sat in a comfortable silence as they ate, letting their initial hunger fade out, before Nora spoke.

"Tyler, I owe you an apology."

His head shot up, his eyes meeting her gaze.

"What for?" He looked at her, a confused expression on his face. But there was something else evident, too. Concern?

"For being a complete bitch to you earlier. I shouldn't have snapped, I was just venting my anger at Brett on you."

"Don't sweat it, it's no big deal. I get it." He looked back at his food and carried on eating.

"I meant it you know." She said quietly, looking down. "You're a very talented dancer."

Tyler's head shot back up once again. "Wow, uh, thanks. No one's ever said that before. I suppose cos I've never really let anyone see me dance like I have been until now."

"Yeah. You're not bad at mopping floors either." She said with a grin, and carried on eating.


End file.
